How to Rescue a Birthday

42 is kind of a nuthin' burger birthday. 40 was WOW. 41 came really fast after 40 and sort of cemented the whole "I'm IN my forties" mentality. 42 just feels like a seat filler for 45. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy and grateful to be 42 and healthy. It's just a smidge anticlimactic.

After an early morning run with legs like cement blocks (you know that run!) it rained cats and dogs so I took the opportunity to do some really exciting things like clean the lint out of my dryer and give the toilets an epic scrub. After birthday calls from my parents I had a good cry because I miss them - sounds awesome, right? Around 3 o'clock my husband took pity on me and came home to attempt a rescue of what was shaping up to be a real shite birthday.

And rescue it, he did! The weather had started to break so we crossed our fingers for a sunset and made it down to the club just in time for this...

 

Thanks God!

Dinner time rolled around and he didn't even ask where we were going... he just dutifully pulled into Apsara, despite the fact that ethnic food doesn't sit well in his being. Say hello to tandoori roasted cauliflower, Tikka Masala channa, garlic naan and a freezing cold bottle of chardonnay. There is absolutely no reason to eat meat when you can order a meal like this...

Saturday morning we decided to continue the birthday celebration by only doing "new" things for a whole day. This is NOT an easy task on a small island that we've spent exploring for several years. We had to dig!

11:00 a.m. Zip Lining

*you have to be seriously organized to get a picture of yourself zip lining - enjoy this picture of Rachel instead!

With Friends :)

3:00 p.m. Sandy Lane Gold Cup (the crown jewel of the Barbados horse racing season). Obviously, we didn't have tickets so we bought some rum and walked around the entire Garrison. We saw a lot of people we knew and thoroughly enjoyed the whole "pomp" of it all. Mark already has a tailgate plan in place for next year. Shocker.

Race #2

Pomp...

More Pomp...

And PONIES!

5:00 p.m. Up next, find a bar we've never been to. YIKES! We drove through The Gap and saw the beach bar at Divi. I am not a fan of hotel bars but what the heck. After hearing a table of hotel guests order 12 strawberry daiquiris while listening to two consecutive Rihanna songs we agreed that we were in the wrong place.

Then I remembered hearing an ad about Pablo Dante's moving to the chattel village. Voila, a bar we've never been to! We got there just in time to see the winner of the Gold Cup cross the finish line on TV.

7:00 p.m. Sadly, there is no picture from "a restaurant we've never been to". We tried a Chinese place against our better judgment and though the menus were dropped by the hostess, a waiter never appeared. We sat for a few minutes both knowing we'd made a mistake in choosing a restaurant that is actually named "Oriental Dining". Then I said "I'm counting to 10". When I got to 10 and there were still tumbleweeds where a waiter should've been we both pushed our chairs back and walked out smiling. I think I actually heard our stomachs yell hallelujah!


To everyone who sent me beautiful messages for my birthday, thank you! I look forward to sharing another year full of adventure with all of you!